Ojibwe entrepreneur pioneers organic eczema treatment

Patrice Mousseau is not a typical entrepreneur – one of those people who are obsessed with new business ideas, grand visions and windfall profits. Her business, Satya Organic Skin Care, was born out of a small-scale and personal problem – her eight-month-old daughter’s eczema.

With doctors declaring steroid cream to be the only solution, Patrice began looking for a more natural alternative. Based on her own research, she made the first batch of her organic eczema remedy in her slow cooker using only five ingredients.

Fast forward a few short years and Satya’s Organic Eczema Relief balm still only has five ingredients and is on sale online and in hundreds of stores in every province and territory in Canada.

With no experience running a business before Satya, Patrice says she’s relied heavily on the business advice and support that comes with Vancity financing. “It can be very intimidating going into a bank as an entrepreneur,” she says. “I’m a single mom and I didn’t have a lot of collateral. But Vancity found a way to make it work and had my back from the very beginning. It feels like a partnership, like they’re part of the family that is my company.”

An Ojibwe from Fort William First Nation in Ontario, Patrice is keen to pass on what she’s learned about business to others, particularly First Nations women. She says she’s relied heavily on the business advice and support that comes with Vancity financing. To date, that includes a $50,000 line of credit and a $30,000 term loan. But, as with most things to do with Vancity, it’s not all about the money.

Demand for Patrice’s product has been intense and she plans to expand the business internationally. For the record, Satya’s Organic Eczema Relief balm is now made in a lab, and Patrice uses her slow cooker for making dinner.